The present invention pertains to raking devices, and more particularly pertains to devices employed for raking and/or dethatching cultivated stands of grass following the trimming thereof with a mower.
Proper maintenance of lawns or larger expanses of turf requires the removal of grass clippings therefrom following mowing operations. Not only should clippings be removed from the upper surface of mowed grass, but "dethatching" is also needed for dislodgement and collection of fresh or decaying clippings which become embedded in the uncut foilage and form an undesirable mat that harbors disease organisms and pests, and smothers the root system of the plant stem. Lawn sweepers or brushes do not always provide sufficiently rapid or efficient cleaning of large expanses of mowed grass, or adequately clean out clippings that have become embedded in the uncut foilage. On the other hand, previously available side delivery raking machines provide little or no control over the ground clearance of the raking tines, so that depressed portions of the ground are not adequately raked, and raised portions become scalped by the tines.